You're Not Alone
by BeautifulInEveryWay
Summary: temporary title  James Diamond is a player. A flirt. A guy who can get pretty much any girl he wants. So what happens when she says no? What is she hiding from him? And how can he find out? *Bad at summaries, sorry* Drama, angst, and romance
1. Chapter 1

**Kendall's POV**

Well, here we are again. Another hot day in the lovely Los Angeles, chilling out by the pool with my friends. Jo had the day off, so she and I are just floating around on pool rafts and drinking smoothies. Logan is helping Camille with her newest audition script, Carlos is playing "swordfight" with his two corndogs, and James is flirting with yet _another_ girl, no doubt shallow, self-centered, and snobby. He always seems to fall for that type. He re-joined our group (alone) a few minutes later.

"Strike out again?" I asked him.

"Nah" he replied. "She just wasn't my type."

"Really?" Jo asked. We had moved from the rafts to the beach chairs now. "She was female, breathing, and dressed, well, not so nice. That's always been your type in the passed." I chuckled and high-fived my genius girlfriend. James just smirked.

"Oh haha" he said sarcastically and Logan and Camille re-joined the group.

"Hey how'd it go? Learn the new script?" Jo asked Camille. We all looked towards her.

"Nah, I decided I'll skip this one. Wasn't feeling it" she replied. Logan smiled and shook his head. Poor guy. He went through all of that for nothing.

"Ooh, who's that?" James asked. We looked towards the direction he had nodded to. I rolled my eyes.

"New girl" Camille said. James started to get up. "Don't bother. She's quiet and shy. Not your type."

"Well, according to_ Jo_ she is" he said sarcastically and turned to go talk to her, but she had practically vanished.

"Where'd she go?" James asked.

"She left" Carlos answered. He had ketchup and mustard all over his face that he was trying to rub off, but both "swords" were gone. We must've all been looking at her for him to notice.

"I looked over at James. "Dude, don't bother. You've got no chance on this one." But I knew it wouldn't affect him. He had "that look" in his eyes again. The "_I-need-to-flirt-fast_" look.

He just shrugged and we all headed up to ours rooms to get ready. Logan, Camille, Jo, and I were going to dinner and a movie. Carlos decided to tag along and bring Stephanie at the last minute, but James said he'd stay home on this one.

We left around six. James yelled goodbye from his spot in front of the TV, then we met the girls in the lobby and headed off on our date night.

**James's POV **

I waited several minutes before I hopped off the couch and took off towards the stairs. I was _going_ to find that new girl and get her to go out with me. I mean, how could she say no to this face?

When I got to the bottom of the stairs I began my search. The first place I looked was by the pool where I saw her yesterday. No new girl. I checked the lobby. No luck.

I ran down to the Palmwood's Park. Still, no new girl. I had just about given up and was headed back to the room when I saw Katie in the lobby. _She likes to keep tabs on all the new people, so maybe be she would know, _I thought.

"Hey Katie, have you seen a new girl? Blondish-gold hair, brown eyes, really quiet?"

She thought for a minute. "Oh, you mean Reagan? Yeah she said she was going to get a coffee at that new coffee shop. She left just a few minutes ago."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks" I said as I gave her a quick hug and turned to leave. "Wait, how do you know?" I turned back to face her, suddenly suspicious that she was lying to me. That was just too easy.

"She asked if I wanted to come. We're friends" she answered, shrugging.

I nodded and took off. Was is strange for Katie to know exactly where she was? Kind of, but I wasn't worried about it. She knew _a lot_ of people, most of which we don't even know about yet.

I was at the coffee shop within five minutes, since it was just around the corner. Sure enough, she was sitting at a table sipping her drink and reading a book. I quickly ordered a drink, checked my hair, and walked over to her.

"Hey" I said coolly. She glanced up, but went back to reading her book. "Mind if I join you?"

She looked back at me, then at all the empty tables around us. I sat down before she could protest. "Guess not" she said, her eyes going back to her book again.

"Thanks" I said, flashing her my best smile. "I'm James by the way." Silence. "You know, I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?"

"Reagan" she said, not taking her eyes off the pages. I cleared my throat. She didn't even glance up. I reached over, thinking about my actions only briefly, and slowly shut the cover of her book. She chuckled once, leaned back, and stared straight into my eyes. Her eyes were so brown, they put me at a loss for words momentarily, but I quickly regained my composure.

"Well beautiful," I started, turning on my _supposedly_ irresistible charm. "How would_ you_ like to go on a date with me?" I may be wrong, but I swear she rolled her pretty little eyes.

"I'm…busy' she said slowly.

"Really? With what?"

"I have to pet sit for a friend" she responded without missing a beat.

"Oh" I said, disappointed, but still a bit doubtful. "What kind of pet does she have?"

She froze and broke eye contact briefly, a small smile tugging at her lips, but she made eye contact again. "She has a goldfish."

My eyebrows shot up in a _you've-gotta-be-kidding_ look, but I couldn't help but laugh. _Was she really going to lie to me? _"Seriously? You really don't want to go out with me?" She didn't answer. "You do realize I'm James Diamond, right? From Big Time Rush? Most girls would pass out just by _talking_ to me, let alone going on a date with me."

She lifted an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed. Then without another word, she got up, grabbed her stuff, and left. I sat there dumbfounded. I had been turned down before (only _once_), and left alone at a table before, but _never_ both. And on top of that, she had_ lied_ to me?

I got up and headed back to the apartment. No girl had _ever_ played hard to get with me. I decided then and there that this is one game I was_ not_ going to lose.

**A/N: Okay, so very first BTR story. I've had it for a while now, but I hadn't decided if I wanted to post it or not. Sorry if it sucked. I'll probably post a few more chapters, but depending on the response I get from it will pretty much decide if I'll keep going with it or not. Hopefully it wasn't too bad. Review and let me know what you think! I'd love to hear :) Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Reagan's POV

_Can you say desperate?_ It's a shame really. James has potential to be a really nice guy, and yeah he's not bad looking, but he's got a HUGE ego problem. The sooner he realizes that, the better off he'll be.

I arrived at room 4C and let myself in. The door re-opened a few minutes later as I was setting my stuff down. I looked at the clock: 8:54. "Oh crap" I whispered to myself as my older brother Ben stormed into my room.

"Where have you been?" he screamed. "Why didn't you do anything you were supposed to do?" I didn't bother to answer and looked back down. Big mistake.

"I asked you a question" he spat as his fist slammed into my ribs. I winced, the pain igniting a fire in the pit of my stomach.

"I went out for coffee" I told him, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to roll down my face. He growled at me and began to curse. I took a deep breath. "You know, I can do other stuff too. You don't own me." I tried to control my shaking voice, but it came out surprisingly clear. I turned and began to walk towards the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Somewhere other than here!" I tried to dodge him as he lunged at me, but I wasn't fast enough. He slammed his meaty fist into my ribs a few more times, his other hand holding me against the wall by my neck, making it hard to breathe. I squirmed out of his grasp and made a break towards the door. He ran after me and kicked me hard in the back, sending me crashing down onto the floor, but it knocked his drunken self off balance too. I scramble to my feet, ignoring the searing pain in my back, and ran for the stairwell. As soon as my feet hit the pavement outside, I took off as fast as I could, not stopping till I reached the Palmwood's Park.

Gasping for air, I collapsed behind a tree and pulled my knees to my chest, letting the tears fall freely. This was going to be a long night.

**James's POV**

The guys still weren't home when I got back, so I decided to go for a jog. When we first moved to L.A., I used to go jogging almost every night, especially when I was stressed. It always cleared my head, and I really needed that right now. I pulled on my beat up old high tops and headed out on my jog. Within ten minutes I had made it around the block and headed through the park on my normal "trail". Not many people are in the park at this time of night, so I was surprised to see someone walking down the sidewalk towards me. I was caught even more off-guard as I realized who it was.

"Reagan?" I asked as she approached me. I could see her tense as she heard her name, a startled look spread across her face.

"Oh, it's you" she said as she quickly wiped under her eyes. Even in the dark, I could tell she had been crying.

"Are you okay?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She took a step back, causing my hand to slip off.

"Yeah. Never better" she said unconvincingly.

"Uh-huh" I said skeptically. "Well do you want to talk?"

She looked at me, her eyes boring into mine a if trying to decipher my words to see if I was playing a joke on her, but a small grin protruded from her lips. "You really can't take a hint, can you?"

I smiled. "Mr. Persistent."

She managed a small laugh as I led her to my favorite spot. I had found it about a month after we first moved in, and- aside from the roof- it was my favorite spot to sit and sort my thoughts.

We approached the small meadow hidden by the woods. I led her over to the tree- my tree- and sat down. She gently sat down across from me. After the first twenty minute or so of pretty much a one sided conversation, I realized that she was actually quite shy, not rude like she had come across in the coffee shop. But after a while I could tell she was starting to feel a little more comfortable, and we indulged into a great conversation. She opened up, if only a little, and before I knew it it was past midnight. I checked my phone: 5 missed calls and 12 new text messages, all from Kendall, Logan, Carlos, and even Katie.

"You should go" Reagan said, catching a glimpse of my phone and seeing the time. I nodded and stood up.

"Coming?" I asked, reaching my hand out to help her up. She shook her head no.

"I think I'll sit here a while longer." I shrugged and said goodbye, then turned to walk away.

"So you really don't want to go out with me?" I was proud of myself, because I had really tried not to mention it. She laughed slightly, her eyes drawing my attention as she stared at me again, almost as if she was searching for something. It gave me chills. Her eyes are _so_ brown, yet so full of mystery.

"One date" she said. I stood there shocked. "Well see where it goes from there."

I was still in shock- almost denial- but quickly tried to regain composure. We exchanged cell numbers before I headed back towards the Palmwood's. I decided to call Logan, since he had called and sent me three more texts in the five minutes that had passed. He picked up on the first ring.

"Where on earth have you been? We've been home for hours, James! I didn't think you were going anywhere tonight!" I laughed. He gets so worried sometimes. "WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?"

"Relax, Logie! I'm heading back right now! Let Kendall, Carlos, and Katie know too. I don't want to call all of them." I hung up before he could grill me anymore. I'd explain when I got back.

I walked into the apartment five minutes later. "Sorry about that, guys. I went on a jog and ran into that new girl, and I lost track of time. But we've got a date tomorrow night!" All I got in return was glares from Kendall and Logan. Carlos wouldn't look at me, and Katie was just staring at the floor. "What?" I asked. They didn't answer. "What?" I asked a bit louder, my frustration showing.

"Well, I was going to ask why you would stay out so late without telling us," Kendall started. I heaved a sigh and leaned against the counter, my arms crossed in front of me, waiting for the lecture to begin. "But then I thought about it and knowing how you've been lately- well it'd just be a stupid question." Carlos chuckled as I stood there, eyebrows raised. That was pretty harsh, especially for Kendall. Without another word, he stood up kissed Katie on the top of her head, and walked off to his and Carlos's room. Guess he was done talking.

"What's up with him?" I asked.

Logan rolled his eyes, breaking the glare that hadn't broken since I walked into the room. "Oh I don't know. I mean, we came home to find Katie here alone and our best friend missing. So we call him a bunch of times, and of course he doesn't answer. When he finally shows up, we find out he's been out with some girl doing who knows what for who knows how long. Oh yeah, and on top of that, _he hangs up on me_.

I rolled my eyes. He was so mad, but the reason was _so stupid_. "Logan, I-"

"Save it James," he sighed. "I only hope that you didn't do anything you'll regret later." He got up and began to walk away.

"Come on, Logan! You _know _I wouldn't do anything like-"

"No, I don't actually!" he shouted, turning back around. "You haven't necessarily been making the smartest decisions lately!"

"Look, that whole entire relationship with Ashley was a mistake if that's what you're talking about. I know that. And I forgot Mrs. Knight on her girls' weekend! I wouldn't purposely leave Katie home alone! You know I wouldn't do that."

"Whatever" he said, running his hands through his hair as he stormed off to our bedroom. Carlos just stood up, shrugged, and walked to his room without saying a word. I stood there, dumbfounded.

"Don't worry about it. They were just worried because they didn't know where you were." Katie said. "Believe it or not they do care about you!" She hugged me before I could say anything. "Night, James."

I hugged her back, not saying goodnight till she was almost to her door. Why can't they just be supportive for once? I mean, I may be the best with long term relationships. I've definitely made some big mistakes, but so has everyone! Learn from your mistakes, right?

I hopped in the shower, hoping the steam would clear my head, but if anything it made it worse. I collapsed into bed, and fell into a restless sleep around 3:30.


	3. Chapter 3

**For monkey87 :) **

**Logan's POV**

After that night, everyone kind of let the subject drop. Kendall and I had talked about it briefly that night, but the matter was left alone till a couple weeks later.

Carlos, Kendall, and I walked into Roque Records to do some recording when we found out that James had somehow gotten Gustavo to give him a day off... without mentioning anything to us about it. He had left without a word earlier that morning. I had just figured he was going on a jog like he always does and would meet us at the studio later. Kelly filled us in on the very little she knew, but there was nothing we could do.

Gustavo eventually let us go since none of us could concentrate. He had been doing better about not getting mad at us, and he seemed to understand this one since his brother had run away when he was a teen (not that any of us thought James had run away. He hasn't been making great choices lately, but he isn't stupid. Besides, I think we all have a pretty good idea of where he's at.)

Kelly dropped us off back at the Palmwood's since Mrs. Knight wouldn't be back from her book club meting for another couple hours. I texted Katie to let her know she could come back from Tyler's since we were heading home.

As soon as we entered the apartment I pulled out my phone, only to have it snatched away by Carlos.

"Dude!" I yelled at him.

"You can't call him! It'll turn out like last time, and I don't want to watch you all fight again."

I stomped my foot in frustration. I'm sure the action looked childish, but I didn't care at the moment. "Kendall!"

"Sorry, but I'm with the Latino on this one." Kendall said as Carlos smirked.

"But-"

"If he's not back by 11 we'll call him ONCE," Kendall stated before turning his attention to the tv.

I immediately started pacing._ What if he did run away? What if he's been kidnapped, or hurt, or worse? What if- _I stopped pacing and let my head hit the wall. "Stop it," I scolded myself mentally. "If I leave my thoughts in the land of what if, things will only get worse."

After arguing with myself a little longer, I sat down on the couch, trying to focus my attention on the movie and not on James. We all watched till we couldn't watch anymore, so we began a loooonnnngggg game of monopoly...

**Carlos's POV**

"Now if you manage your money properly and invest in the right properties..." I sat there bored out of my mind as Logan once again explained all his monopoly strategies to Kendall, Katie, and me as I we were actually listening. I couldn't care less. I was in jail for the 7th time this game. Logan moved and landed on boardwalk, which Katie already had a hotel on. She laughed as he counted out and handed her all but a dollar.

"And that is why I buy every piece I can afford," Katie said, smirking. We played for another 20 minutes or so before everyone just quit. I went to get a bowl of popcorn from the kitchen while Kendall put another movie on.

"You know you shouldn't eat food after 8 pm. It messes up your digestive-" I cut him off by shrugging and cramming as much of it in my mouth as I could. I settled down on the couch as the beginning of Transformers began to play.

**Kendall's POV**

I woke up and rubbed my eyes as I scanned the room. The main screen for Transformers was on the tv screen, playing over and over again. I glanced at the clock: 4:29.

"I'm up way too early," I complained to myself as I turned the screen off and tried to fall back to sleep.

"Wait, 4:29?" I said loudly and sat straight up, causing Carlos and Logan to jump. I ran to the counter, searching for my phone. Call James, call James, call James ran through my head as I dialed the numbers as fast as I could. It beeped and beeped until I heard his...ringtone? Since when did he set it to play music when- _oof!_

A pillow flew into the back of my head. Katie was standing in the doorway of her room, holding James phone up in the air.

"What the heck? People are _trying_ to sleep! Keep it down!" she whispered loudly.

"How- What- When-" I stuttered. "James is back?"

"Yeah, he came in, like, an hour ago," she said tiredly. I looked over at Carlos, who had already fallen back to sleep, and Logan who was staring back and forth between me and Katie, looking very confused.

"Did he say anything? Like where he was at?" Logan asked.

"No, and I didn't ask. He just walked in and asked why I was still awake. I told him we watched a movie, then he just nodded and went to bed."

I sighed. "Thanks Katie. Sorry I woke you up. Night." She smiled and gave Logan and I each a hug before disappearing back into her bedroom. We watched her leave before crashing back onto the couch and quickly falling asleep.

**A/N: I don't like this chapter, or any of the others I have written really but I couldn't change it much or else it would mess up the rest (if that made any sense…) I have a lot of this story already written, but its not typed and I'm pretty lazy when it comes to typing it up. Hope you somewhat enjoyed! Sorry I had completely forgotten that I had even posted this story. If you're interested in some of my more recent (and a little better in my personal opinion) stories, look on my profile page for links to a Percy Jackson story featuring the Stoll brothers, a one shot about Before You Exit, and the story I'm most proud of at the moment called Our Endless Summer featuring Zayn Malik and the rest of the 1D boys :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Logan's POV**

Kendall, Carlos, and I woke up at ten the next morning. James was still sound asleep in his room, so we went ahead and had breakfast without him. Katie walked in the front door just as the microwave beeped.

"Hey guys," she said, shutting the door behind her.

"Hey Katie," was the slow response.

"Where have you been?" Kendall asked suspiciously.

"Oh, I was talking to the new girl."

"And why we're you talking to Julie?" I asked, since Julie was the newest girl at the Palmwood's. "You shouldn't be hanging out with her, Katie. She's bad news."

"Um, not J-"

"Hey guys," James said happily as he slid down the swirly slide.

"Hey James! Heads up!" Carlos threw a pancake towards the tall boy, Frisbee-style. James smiled and caught it in midair.

"Why are you in such a good mood? You're normally grumpy in the mornings." Carlos asked, narrowing his eyes. I elbowed him, causing him to yelp. James just chuckled.

"I finally got the new girl to go out with me," he said, a look of pride spread across his face. I rolled my eyes and heard Kendall sigh loudly. We hadn't even officially met Julie yet, and we already knew she has a bad rep.

"Here we go again," Kendall mumbled. James glared at him.

"Whatever," James muttered as he put down the pancake and walked toward the door.

"Where are you go-" I started to ask, but the door slammed shut before I could finish. The three of us stood still, staring at the door.

"It won't last," Kendall said, breaking the silence as he poured maple syrup all over his plate.

"I know," I agreed. "I wish he'd finally go out with someone decent. James needs a good girlfriend." The others agreed, and we finished our breakfast.  
><strong><br>Carlos's POV**

I finished all my pancakes and the leftovers, but I was hungry again shortly after so I grabbed my room key and ran to the corn dog stand in Palmwood's park.

I ordered my usual and handed the cashier my card (yes, I go there so often that they gave me one of those stamper cards. I've gone through, like, 5 already!) before heading back to the apartment.

"Hey Julie," I said as I passed the bleach blonde in the lobby. "I'm Carlos. Where's James?"

"Who?" she asked, obviously annoyed that I was interrupting whatever she was doing. I gave her a blank stare.

"What do you mean _who_?" I asked. She just rolled her eyes and walked away, her attention back on her phone.

I shrugged and hopped onto the elevator. Logan and Kendall were standing at the entrance as the doors slid open.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked, my mouth full of food.

"We're supposed to be at Rocque Records by 12, remember?" Logan said as he and Kendall stepped into the elevator and hit the button. The doors closed with a ding.

"Oh," I replied. "Well where's James and Katie?"

"Katie's running errands with my mom. James just texted me and told me he'd meet us there." Kendall said, obviously irritated that James wasn't back yet. The doors opened on the lobby again. I stepped out, following Kendall and Logan into the parking lot.

"Are we going to race today?" I asked hopefully. Even though Rocque Records is a couple miles away, if there's no one who can drive us, we race each other there. It keeps us in shape.

Kendall sighed. "Not today, Carlos," he said as Logan signaled a taxi. We all piled in the back and handed the driver a couple bucks. Then we were off to another day of recording and rehearsing.  
><strong><br>James's POV**

I walked into the studio ten minutes late. Kendall, Carlos, and Logan were already in the recording booth.

"Nice of you to show up, James," Gustavo grumbled. The other guys glared at me.  
>"Sorry," I muttered. "I was at Starbucks with-"<p>

"Your girlfriend, we know." Kelly handed me a sheet of paper with the new lyrics on it. "Just go get started. The sooner you finish the sooner you can leave." I stared at her for a second. This wasn't like her at all.

I joined the others in the booth and got to work. We worked on new vocals and choreography for hours before he finally let us go. Mrs. Knight picked us up, and we drove home in silence. I went straight to my room and turned on my iPod, locking the door behind me before crashing onto my bed, deep in thought. _Am I spending too much time with Reagan?_ I thought quietly. _Of course not! She's my girlfriend! I'm allowed to spend time with her. Carlos doesn't see to care, but Logan and Kendall need to get over it. They don't even know her, yet they're judging her like she's a criminal or-_

"James," I heard Kendall's voice outside as he rapidly knocked on the door. I ignored him, cranking the volume louder.

"James open up. We need to talk to you!" This time it was Logan.

"Go away!" I yelled, hoping they would actually listen. No such luck.

"James! Wanna go play laser tag?" Carlos asked eagerly.

"Or do you have plans with your girlfriend?" I heard Logan mutter, and then grunt loudly. Carlos must've elbowed him in the stomach. 'Atta boy.

"Look, we just wanna talk to you!" Kendall pleaded.

"I don't wanna talk!" I shouted back, trying to be louder than the music as I buried my head under my pillow. I heard a click and footsteps before everything went silent. "Hey!" I yelled, looking up to see Kendall and the others standing across from me, a key in one hand and my iPod in the other.

"James, this had got to stop. We're brothers! We can't act like this!" Logan said.

I sat straight up. "_We_ can't act like this? I'm not doing anything! You're the ones causing problems! You know you could be at least a little supportive of me instead of making all these assumptions about my girlfriend! You don't even know her!"

Kendall spoke up. "You know what James? You're right. We don't know her, but we know people that do. She's not someone you want to associate with, let alone someone you want to go spending all your time making out with!"

"She's not like that!" I yelled back. "And I'm here with you now, aren't I?"

"Yes but you don't want to be! And taking off without telling us all the time? You should at least let us know!" Logan shouted.

"Okay, sorry for not telling you! Happy now?" They shouted back at me, but I didn't even bother listening. They were just wasting their breath.

"Hey," I said after I'd had enough. They kept right on talking. "Hey," I said it a little louder this time. Once again they didn't stop, but Carlos had heard me.

"HEY!" Carlos yelled, sacking Logan.

"Dude, what the heck?" Logan said loudly. I chuckled.

"Look," I started. "I don't know what you've got against my girlfriend, but it needs to stop and it needs to stop _now_. So here's what I'm going to do. I'll hangout with you guys all week, but you have to stop being so judgmental. Deal?"

Logan started to protest, but Kendall stopped him. "So what you're saying is: you won't hang out with her _alllllll _week long?" I shifted uncomfortably, but nodded. Kendall smirked, no doubt thinking I wouldn't be able to do it. "What do we get if you do?"

I hesitated, trying to think of something. I didn't want to do this, but it seemed like the best way to go. I smiled cockily at him. "I'll break up with her."

Surprise spread across all three of their faces. My response had definitely caught them off guard. "Deal," Kendall said. "But no sneaking out without us knowing, and no midnight rendezvous."

I tried to seem confident as I shook his hand. "Deal." _What had I done?_

"So laser tag now?" Carlos asked hopefully. We all laughed.

"Of course!" I said. "Cause I will cream you all!"

"Oh it's on!" Kendall said. We raced out the door and down the stairs to the lobby.

"But if I win-which I will- what's in it for me?" I asked, walking backwards so I could see them.

"Hmm," Kendall thought out loud. "Everyone has to give the winner ten bucks."

"Easy money," I said with a chuckle. I turned back around quickly, only to crash face first into none other than Reagan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 6**

**James's POV**

"Oh, sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going." I could hear Carlos, Logan, and Kendall laughing hysterically behind me.

"It's fine," Reagan assured me with a quiet smile. "So...do you wanna do something later?"

"Can't," I said, turning to the guys, expecting to see smirks on their faces. They just looked plain confused. "I promised I'd hang out with these goofballs all this week. Next week though, okay?"

She nodded, trying to cover the disappointment in her eyes with a smile. My stomach twisted. Why had I agreed to this?

"Wait!" Kendall yelled as Reagan was starting to walk away. She stopped, a timid, confused look consuming her face. I raised an eyebrow as I glanced back at Kendall. "James, come here."

"What are you doing?" I growled as I walked over to him.

"Who's that?" Kendall asked, ignoring my question.

Seriously, I thought. "Reagan!"

"That's your girlfriend?" Logan whispered loudly. Carlos was just staring back and forth between the three of us.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, duh. Why?"

Reagan was still standing there silently. "I'm just gonna...go," she muttered shyly.

"No, wait!" Kendall said quickly.

"Dude, what the heck? What's going on?" I asked frustratedly. He and Logan exchanged a panicked, nervous look.

"Do you want to play laser tag with us tonight?" Kendall asked Reagan. I stated at him in disbelief. First they lay into me about how bad my girlfriend is, and now they're inviting her to guys night out? What is going on?

"Uh-" she hesitated. "I-I guess. I mean.." She looked at me as if she was asking permission. Strange.

"Oh totally" I said, flashing my best smile. "It'll be fun!" I shot Kendall and Logan another questioning glance.

"Great!" Logan said. "Why don't you guys go ahead? Kendall and I need to speak to James real quick, but we'll catch up to you in a sec."

"Okay!" Carlos shouted before Reagan even had a chance to respond. He grabbed her arm gently and led her towards the doors. "Hi! I'm Carlos-" His voice faded out as the sliding doors shut. Poor Reagan.

I turned, irritated, towards Kendall and Logan. "What the heck was that about?"

"We didn't know it was Reagan you were going out with!" Logan said quickly.

"Yeah, you kept saying "new girl", and we just thought you were talking about Julie!"

"Well, you didn't really give me a chance to explain, now did you?" I yelled. A few people around me shot us dirty looks, so I toned it down a bit.

"We're sorry okay! It was just a simple misunderstanding!" Logan said. I sighed, exasperated.

"So all the times you yelled at me were pointless too, huh?"

"Pretty much," Kendall said. I glared at him. "Look, I'm sorry! I-"

"Let's just go," I said quickly, cutting him off. "We can talk about this later." Without another word I tuned and walked out the door. Kendall and Logan silently followed.

**Reagan's POV**

"Oh, and this one time I had a dog named Sparky, and he was a golden retriever, and-" Carlos continued on and on. I swear that boy has not stopped to take a breath since we started walking. I followed slightly behind him, nodding ad saying 'uh-hu' from time to time. Man, that boy could talk your ear off!

"Why are you so quiet?" he asked suddenly. I realized I hadn't said a real word the whole time. Before I could respond, we had arrived at the laser tag place. Carlos held the door open for me and grabbed a table near the game room as we waited for James, Logan, and Kendall. And of course, Carlos continued to talk...and talk...and talk...

James finally walked in about ten minutes later, followed by the other two boys. I tried to hide my relief, but I must not have done a very good job because they all burst out laughing.

We got up and purchased our tickets, then played air hockey in the game room till our round was called. The employee led us into the briefing room, where he told us the rules as he handed out vests and guns. This round it was Carlos, Kendall, and Logan against James and I. Not extremely fair (since I hadn't played in years) but James had insisted he could beat everyone, so the teams were split like that.

The timer ticked down slowly. At 1 minute, the boys ran out to hide.

"Okay, just stay close to me and you'll be fine," James instructed. Before I could say anything, the timer hit zero and James took off. I sighed and followed behind him.

Within the first couple turns we were ambushed by Logan and Carlos. James got hit and took off to hide, but I ended up having to run the other way. I guess his plan isn't going to work.

I snuck up on Kendall and shot him, then ducked behind a barrier to hide. I did it a couple more times before running to hide in a different spot.

That was my strategy for this game: shoot and keep moving, shoot and keep moving. And it was working great! I got kill after kill after kill. Pretty soon the round was over, and I began making my way to the exit.

**James's POV**

I felt bad about losing Reagan, but I didn't bother trying to find her. She's a smart girl, so I'm sure she figured in out by the end of the round. Besides, I had a couple people to beat!

I was on fire as the round came to an end. The first thing I looked at when we got out was the scoreboard: 7,511 to 5,280. We won!

"Woo! Told you we'd win!" I said, whooping and hollering as I rubbed the victory in my friends faces. They just rolled their eyes, chuckling to themselves as we ordered a pizza and sat at our table. Reagan caught up to us as we sat down. I hugged her tightly, pulling her into the booth next to me. Carlos slid in on the other side of her.

"Sorry I lost you in there," I murmured into her ear.

"It's fine. I think I got the hang of it," she responded with a smile. See, I knew she'd be fine.  
>Reagan excused herself to go to the restroom. Shortly after she had left, the waitress showed up with our pizza, drinks, and most importantly- the score cards. She handed each of ours out (facedown, as usual) before leaving. Carlos flipped his card over: 1,760 points. Next Kendall went. He got 1,932 points. Then it was Logan's turn: 1,588. So far, Kendall had the highest individual score. Not for long, though. Soon I'd be thirty bucks richer.<p>

"Drumroll, please." I said jokingly as I flipped my card over: 2,980.

"Ooooh!" the other guys teased as I stared at my card in disbelief. It had my name on it, so it was obviously mine. That could only mean one thing...

Right on cue almost, Reagan came back. "Your turn!" Carlos said eagerly. "Flip your card over!" She hesitated, glancing at me as if she was asking permission again. I nodded. She turned it over quietly: 4,531. My jaw dropped, and she blushed slightly as Kendall, Carlos, and Logan congratulated her.

"How did you do that?" I asked incredulously. "I thought you'd never played before!"

She shrugged sheepishly. "I never said I hadn't played before. You never asked, so after we got separated I just...played." Now it was my turn to blush. I guess I was so focused on winning that I didn't even think to ask if she had played before.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "But you're amazing!"

"Thanks," she said, still blushing slightly.

We ate pizza, joked around, and just had a great time for the rest of the night. Reagan didn't really say much, but it didn't surprise me. She just met the guys. They definitely take some time to get used to!

"So are we gonna play another round?" Carlos asked hopefully. Logan looked at his watch.  
>"I don't think we can tonight. It's almost closing time." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Reagan tense up and check her phone, but then she relaxed again.<p>

"You okay?" I asked her, concerned.

"Oh, uh- yeah. My phone just buzzed and it, um- scared me," she replied, not making eye contact. What was she hiding? Before I could ask her anything else, Kendall spoke up.

"Well, we should probably get going." Logan agreed, and Carlos- after asking about another round again- gave in too. We paid our bill and headed back to the Palmwood's.

"Thanks for coming tonight!" Logan said as the elevator doors opened on Reagan's floor.

"Yeah it was fun! You'll have to come again sometime!" Carlos added. Kendall nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for inviting me," she said quietly.

"You're welcome anytime," Kendall said, smiling. I rolled my eyes. Yeah, I'm happy Reagan got to come, but weren't they all mad at me earlier because they thought I was spending too much time with her? I'm hoping this wasn't some kind of trick.

"Hey, I'll talk to you later, okay?" I asked. She nodded, managing a small smile before the doors started closing. The last thing I saw before the doors shut were those gorgeous brown eyes.


End file.
